Cinderella and her evil (step) mother ;-)
There are domestic chores that we all do, but never make mention of because they are so ordinary, or gross. The ketchup globs that have dried and gelled under the garbage can lid, the splatters down the front of the kitchen cabinets, the dirty fingerprints on the trim around the doorways, the dirt and dust-covered baseboards by the front door...Today, I decided I would teach my youngest daughters about some of the less glamorous tasks I do around here.
When I'm going to do a quick wipe-down of the bathroom, I use length of folded toilet paper to wipe the hair and dust from the sink, toilet, baseboards (if they are grimy), and the floor around the toilet and garbage can. Once the hair and dust is gone, a wet rag or lysol wipe can finish the cleaning job without spreading the hair or dust around. Today, I showed Julia how to do this and she was quite disgusted at how quickly the hair and dust can collect; one small bathroom and five people using it, it doesn't take long to get dirty.
The other hot spot that my little Cinderellas dealt with was the pet food area; the stainless steel water bowls needed a vinegar scrub to remove the hard water, the food dishes needed a good washing, and I set Charlotte up beside the bathtub to scrub the plastic tray that the dishes sit on. Julia groaned and complained at first, but Charlotte thought it was a fun, new game I'd invented and she was quite happy to scrub the plastic tray.
It was an eye opener for Julia to see that it really isn't a housekeeper fairy that comes in the night and cleans the house, that someone actually has to DO this work, even the things that no one often notices.
When I'm going to do a quick wipe-down of the bathroom, I use length of folded toilet paper to wipe the hair and dust from the sink, toilet, baseboards (if they are grimy), and the floor around the toilet and garbage can. Once the hair and dust is gone, a wet rag or lysol wipe can finish the cleaning job without spreading the hair or dust around. Today, I showed Julia how to do this and she was quite disgusted at how quickly the hair and dust can collect; one small bathroom and five people using it, it doesn't take long to get dirty.
The other hot spot that my little Cinderellas dealt with was the pet food area; the stainless steel water bowls needed a vinegar scrub to remove the hard water, the food dishes needed a good washing, and I set Charlotte up beside the bathtub to scrub the plastic tray that the dishes sit on. Julia groaned and complained at first, but Charlotte thought it was a fun, new game I'd invented and she was quite happy to scrub the plastic tray.
It was an eye opener for Julia to see that it really isn't a housekeeper fairy that comes in the night and cleans the house, that someone actually has to DO this work, even the things that no one often notices.